Uncategorised

An extraordinary exchange of emails which has recently emerged, reveal a serious pollution incident on the Gaywood River and makes it clear that it could very well happen again. This wasn’t the doing of some unscrupulous fly-tipper or chicken farm but of two key agencies entrusted to look after our river.

A couple of years back, the Environment Agency decided to downgrade our chalk streams to “ordinary watercourses” and to hand over maintenance to the King’s Lynn Internal Drainage Board (IDB). Consequently, the Environment Agency and the IDB conveniently have responsibility for different aspects of the river and, rather more seriously, have different priorities. Their failure to act together brought about a serious pollution incident last September with neither side apparently accepting responsibility.

According to a KLIDB report, “The EA contacted KLIDB in early October to inform us that they had been contacted by a member of the public, regarding concern over recent maintenance on the Gaywood River and the potential for IDB maintenance to stir up phosphates from the sediments. The member of the public alleged that this IDB activity had caused the death of two fish.”

[In fact it was one of out team that reported to the EA that there were “dozens of dead fish” (not two) along one stretch of the river.]

Although inspection showed that river margins and banks had been cut very short the IDB insist that the work was still technically within the remit of their Standard Maintenance Operations “for Fenland watercourses”. And there’s the rub, The Gaywood River is not a Fenland watercourse, it is a rare chalk stream but is not being treated as such.

The IDB go on to say that they have no control over the stirring up of dangerous levels of phosphates, even though their work does exactly that. They point out that “water quality of the river remains the remit of the Environment Agency as Regulator”. In other words, they know they are stirring up the phosphate laden silt which kills almost all fish in the river but once they have done so, it’s not their problem since it affects water quality for which EA is responsible.

You really couldn’t make it up.

Gaywood River Revival recent carried out tests on the river which showed that even down as far as The Walks phosphate levels were three times higher than they should be.

The question remains as to whether “as Regulator” the Environment Agency will be taking action against the IDB over this incident. It seems unlikely.
Meanwhile you’ll not be surprised to hear that plans have been published to mechanically clear the river of plant-life again this summer.

 

A temporary closure order has been made to stop vehicles damaging the Gaywood River near Grimston.

Surprisingly, the narrow path alongside the  upper reach of the chalk stream from its springs at Grimston is classified as a byway. Recently however, groups of two and four wheel vehicles have been forcing a way through and have caused huge damage to both the path and the stream. On occasions vehicles have become stuck in the stream and even overturned, causing pollution as well as physical damage.

Norfolk Highways have now put a temporary close on the byway while restoration work is carried out. Concerns remain that the damage could be repeated when the order expires.

 

 

The Environment Agency today issued a damming comment on performance data supplied water companies. Recent news about the extent of untreated sewage discharges may have been understating the extent of the problem, partly because fewer outfalls are monitored than the water companies claim.

On it’s official blog the Environment Agency said that:

“Overall the water companies are claiming 96% EDM (Event Duration Monitors) coverage; however this is … wrong. The official data shows it is in fact 91%. In addition, in this year’s annual returns, there were a number of additional storm overflows reported by some water companies and some monitors are not operating as reliably as we expect.

It is the water companies’ responsibility to notify us about any storm overflow, pumping station or wastewater treatment works which does not have an environmental permit. They should apply for the permit as soon as possible after they identify the offending discharge.”

The water companies also appear to have been making unsubstantiated claims about their “improved” performance.

”The 2022 EDM data shows a decrease in spills, which reflects last year’s drier than average weather. Despite claims by water companies and Water UK, the body that represents their interests, there is no evidence to show it is because of water company action. In fact, last year water companies only made improvements to 65 storm overflows – less than 0.5% of the overall total of overflows in the entire system – so we are very confident that water company action has not significantly contributed to the reduction in flows overall. For them to claim otherwise is wilfully misleading.

What is very clear from the data they have provided is that the number of spills they are allowing on the sewage network is far too high and totally unacceptable. We are considering whether any action is required under our Enforcement and Sanctions Policy.”

 

At last we’ve been having a bit of rain recently but is it enough to save us from drought this summer?

It looks very unlikely at the moment but of course “drought” in an area of chalk streams is a more complex business.

How wet our gardens are is largely dependent on recent rain. Across much of west Norfolk, the soils are light and free draining so it’s gone almost as quickly as it arrived!

For the chalk streams it is quite a different matter. Rainfall is absorbed by the porous chalk and it begins its slow journey towards the underground aquifer and eventually to head of one of our streams it can take months and years for today’s rain. And there’s the problem. The Gaywood, along with the other streams is running at an exceptionally low level; many springs have simply dried up, already. We are seeing the effect of past year’s exceptionally dry and hot summer alongside the increased borehole abstraction from the aquifer for irrigation and for our water supplies.

This weekend’s rain won’t be showing up in our streams for many months yet. Possibly not before the streams start drying up.

Welcome to The Gaywood River Revival website. Please bear with us while we set up the site and come back soon for some more information. 

We’ll be adding content and proposing ways that we can all get involved with appreciating and protecting our very own chalk stream.